Red Red Wine
by Willow21
Summary: CJ and Donna discuss men, over a bottle of wine.


**Title: Red Red Wine  
Author: Willow  
Summary:** CJ and Donna discuss men over a bottle or two of wine.  
**Episode:** Anything up to season 4.  
**Characters:** CJ and Donna  
**Rating:** G  
**Disclaimer:** They all belong to Aaron Sorkin, NBC, John Wells and many others who aren't me.

* * *

CJ poured more wine into her and Donna's glasses. "You know what my problem is with men?" she asked.

"They're men," Donna suggested.

CJ considered that for a moment. "Actually yes, that's probably it," she agreed. "But beside that?"

"No."

"I always fall for the ones I can't have."

"I know that feeling," Donna agreed.

"I mean, in high school it was Rob Hall. He was funny and smart and good looking and every girl in the school wanted him. I didn't have a chance."

"Why?" Donna asked.

"He was always in trouble in Math class. Guess who taught him?"

"Your dad," Donna guessed.

"My choice in men just sucks," CJ declared.

"Least you never dropped out of college to put Dr Freeride through Med School," Donna said.

"Dr Freeride?" CJ asked.

"That's what Josh calls him," Donna replied. "Have we anymore of this?" she picked up the empty wine bottle.

"Yeah, another one here," CJ handed her a new bottle. "'Course you know who the worst was?"

"What?"

"Man that I fell for, the worst."

"Danny," Donna smiled.

"What? No, no. No, not Danny."

"Okay," Donna smiled and poured more wine. "Who?"

"Simon," CJ sighed.

"Simon? I didn't know you and him....... "

"We didn't. We never got chance. He was too professional to let anything happen while he was protecting me and then it was too late."

"CJ," Donna's voice was full of concern. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. I was going to but..... I don't know." The only person CJ had talked to about her feelings for Simon, was Toby. She knew that most people would think he was an odd choice, but he was actually surprisingly easy to talk to, once you knew him well enough.

They were quiet for a while until Donna said, "I nearly always fall for Republicans, why is that?"

"You're family are Republican," CJ suggested.

"So it's genetic?" Donna pondered. "There was a friend of Ainsley's, a lawyer. Josh hated him."

"Well he would," CJ smiled. "You were dating him."

"No, he just hated him."

"Who was he?"

"You promise never to tell anyone?" Donna asked.

"What?" CJ laughed.

"I'm serious, CJ."

"Okay," CJ was curious now.

"Cliff Cally."

"What! My God, Donna. No wonder Josh....... oh my God!" CJ thought for a moment. That suddenly explained a lot. She remembered now, Josh was really angry with Donna for some reason that he wouldn't say. It was weeks before the two of them were back to normal. "Wow."

"Yeah. It was a huge mistake, worse than you can ever imagine."

"Jack was nice though."

"Yeah he was. At the time I thought it felt right and I was really angry with Josh when he got transferred."

"With Josh?"

"Yeah. He suggested that Jack requested a transfer."

"Well that was sensitive of him," CJ replied. "You could have kept in touch."

"I thought about that. But after he'd gone and the whole thing with the quote and Josh coming to drag me to the inaugural balls, I dunno, it just didn't seem worth it."

"You must have felt something for him, to try and cover for him like that," CJ asked.

"I did, or at least I thought I did. But he let me do it. He went off to Italy and he let me take the credit for the quote. He just said thanks and left, he didn't even argue." Donna can't help but think that Josh would never have let her take the blame for something he'd done.

"At least he said thanks," CJ said dryly.

"I should have known at Christmas," Donna continued.

"Why?"

"Because there I was, in a romantic hotel in the mountains, in the perfect Christmas setting, with a good looking, attentive man and what did I do....?" she trailed off.

CJ smiled, "You phoned Josh."

"Yes," Donna agreed. "I woke up on Christmas morning. Jack and I exchanged gifts, he bought me a beautiful pair of earrings, then he went for a shower. I sat looking out of the window at the snow and all I could think of was a book on skiing that Josh bought me three years ago."

"He bought you a book on skiing?" CJ laughed, pouring more wine.

"Yeah. Heimlich Beckengruber's 'The Art and Artistry of Alpine Skiing'." Donna smiled at the memory of the note Josh wrote in the book's cover. "Then I suddenly realized that everyone had plans for Christmas, apart from him. I didn't like to think of him on his own, so I called him to check he was okay. I was very relieved when he said he was going round to yours."

"Yep," CJ smiled. "We watched old movies, got drunk and ate too much junk. We were jealous as hell of you, up in the mountains in a swanky hotel."

"CJ, do you promise not to laugh at me."

"Yeah."

"When I hung up the phone I had the strangest feeling of homesickness. I really wished I was with the two of you."

CJ smiled as she watched Donna. She really wished that Donna and Josh would stop dancing around each other, but she knew it wasn't quite that easy. "You know what the real problem is?"

"What?" Donna asked

"The real problem we have with men," CJ clarified.

"No, what?" Donna asked again.

"We can't admit what's really going on."

"We can't?" Donna asked.

"No."

"No," Donna agreed. "Why is that?"

"Because we always fall heaviest for the one we can't have," CJ said.

"Danny?" Donna asked.

"It would never work," CJ said. "A reporter and the Press Secretary."

"It could work," Donna insisted.

"No it couldn't. The President even told me that once."

"Really?"

"He was teasing. I think," CJ said. "What about Josh?"

"What about him?" Donna asked.

"Donna!"

"That definitely wouldn't work."

"Why?"

"Where so you want me to start?" Donna said. "He's my boss, he's 13 years older than me, he's my boss."

"Does him being older matter, really?"

"No, not to me."

"I don't think him being your boss would matter."

"Oh come on, CJ. If I came to you on Monday morning, when you were sober, and said I was dating Josh, you'd kill us both."

"You'd still like to though."

"And you'd still like to date Danny."

"Yeah," CJ agreed.

END


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